He’s recognised as an ­exceptional young talent and we have high ­expectations of the player

Andre Villas-Boas

Spurs rushed through the signing of Schalke and Germany ­midfielder Lewis Holtby this week because boss Villas-Boas sees him as the heir to one of the club’s best ever signings.

Van der Vaart lit up White Hart Lane after his shock £8m move from Real Madrid in 2010, before quitting for Hamburg last summer.

Villas-Boas feels Holtby could be every bit as exciting as the ­Dutchman and reckons, at £1.5m, he is the ‘‘bargain of the century”.

He is so confident in the 22-year-old – who cost so little because he had already agreed to join on a free next summer – that the Spurs boss is considering ­handing him a speedy debut at ­Norwich tonight.

Villas-Boas said: “He’s been ­selected. Is he ready to go straight in? It depends, but his English background can help him and he knows the culture and the ­language very well.

“Is he the bargain of the century? I think so because it’s difficult to find a young player who is running his contract down and we faced tough competition.

“He’s recognised as an ­exceptional young talent and we have high ­expectations of the player.

“Because of his creativity you can compare him to Rafa – to a ­certain extent anyway because Rafa was a greatly experienced player when he joined and Lewis has all his career ahead of him.

“He will fill the No.10 position, ­although he can play on the right or the left and he has also played in a holding role.”

Holtby speaks fluent English and was qualified to play for the Three ­Lions through his dad Chris, a former ­soldier from Liverpool, but choose to represent the country of his birth.

He was also being chased by a host of other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal. Spurs fans will hope he can bring goals with him after Villas-Boas confirmed that striker Jermain Defoe has been playing with a hip injury for ­almost a month.

With Emmanuel Adebayor at the African Nations Cup, Defoe’s health is a big issue, although Villas-Boas played down reports the player needs an operation.

However, the England hitman should be fit to face Norwich and Villas-Boas said: “We are happy with the development of his injury and the player feels well about his body and feels no pain.